Hour Game

"And maybe going in separate directions."

Eddie was dressed in gray dress slacks, white shirt and a blue blazer and carried a leather briefcase. With his deep tan and strong, weathered features, plus the nice clothes, he looked very handsome, Michelle noted appreciatively.

Dorothea was dressed all in black, which seemed appropriate under the circumstances, but King knew it had nothing to do with mourning the loss of the family patriarch: the fishnet stockings, stiletto heels and very visible cleavage were the giveaways.

King unlocked the door to the office building, and they all went inside.

When they were all settled, King said, "We're really sorry about your father, Eddie." He glanced at Dorothea but said nothing because the woman's look invited no such condolences.

"I still can't believe it," said Eddie. "Mom was there at ten, and at ten-thirty he's dead."

"Remmy told us she saw no one when she was leaving," said Michelle.

"Well, it's not like the person would've been jumping up and down in front of Remmy yelling, ‘I'm going in to kill your husband now,'" said Dorothea irritably.

Eddie said, "Thanks for pointing that out, Dorothea. If you have nothing helpful to contribute, why don't you just sit there and continue sulking?"

Good for you, Eddie Battle, thought Michelle.

Dorothea looked like she was about to fire back with something suitably nasty, but she managed to restrain herself. She just sat there with her arms folded, scowling at the floor.

"What can we do for you, Eddie?" asked King.

Eddie pulled a newspaper out of the briefcase and pointed to a front-page article. King took the paper and scanned the story while Michelle read over his shoulder.

When he finished, King looked very upset. "How the hell did the account of Remmy's threatening Junior get leaked to the press?"

"Maybe Lulu," suggested Michelle. "Or her mother, Priscilla. Sounds like something she might do."

"Regardless," said Eddie, "now the whole town thinks Mom had Junior killed."

"But the Gazette also reported that Junior's death has been linked to the serial killings," pointed out Michelle.

Eddie slumped down in a chair. "That doesn't matter. People will think she paid someone to make it look that way."

"So how's Remmy taking it?"

"It's killing her."

"But she's not denying she threatened Junior?" asked King.

Eddie now looked wary. "I don't want to play semantics with you, Sean, but even if she threatened him, she had nothing to do with the man's death."

"I can't control what people think."

"I know that, but I just thought, well…"

"What do you want us to do, Eddie?" asked Michelle gently.

"Yes, it would be nice if you came to the point," said Dorothea. "I have two homes to show this morning."

Eddie ignored her and said, "Can you go and speak to Mom again? I know you came by the other day with Chip, and she sort of cut you off. But if you came by again, I know she'd see you. She needs someone to talk to right now."

"What exactly would she tell us?" asked King.

"I'm not totally sure," admitted Eddie. "But at least you can get her side of things instead of just this trash in the paper."

"I'm sure Chip and his men will do that."

"But she'd be more comfortable with you. Between you, me and the wall, Chip and Mom don't really get along all that well."

"Even though he saved your life?"

"I don't know how to explain it. I only know it's true."

"He speaks very highly of her."

"Maybe I wasn't clear. Mom doesn't really care for him all that much."

"All right, we'll speak to her. But, again, that won't stop people from gossiping."

Dorothea broke in. "Since Eddie keeps beating around the bush, let me say it straight out. There's no way in the world that Remmy had anything to do with that man's death. But if you find whoever did kill Junior, that would stop all the talk."

"Right," said Eddie. "And then maybe you'll find who murdered Dad too."

"So you think it might be the same person?" asked King.

"It just seems very coincidental that Junior was charged with burglarizing my parents' home, and then in quick succession he and my father are killed."

"That was actually my idea," said Dorothea proudly. "And the reason I'm here. I got to thinking about this last night. What if somebody is using this string of murders to hide the killings of Bobby and Junior? And if so, it must be connected to what was stolen."

"That's actually something we're considering," admitted King.

"See!" exclaimed Dorothea, pointing at her husband. "I told you!"

"All right, Dorothea, all right," Eddie said. "So you think it's possible, Sean?"

"Anything's possible," said King vaguely. "Will your mother be home today?"

"Yes, but the funeral's tomorrow. A lot of people are coming in for it."

"Then we'll talk to her after that. What time's the service?"

"Two o'clock. There's a service at Christ Church and burial's at Kensington. You're welcome to come, of course."

Dorothea hunched forward. "So do you have any leads, anyone you suspect so far?"